Netflix has ordered an adult animated series based on the card game “Exploding Kittens,” starring “Lucifer” star Tom Ellis and Lucy Liu. A new mobile game adaptation, “Exploding Kittens – The Game,” is being co-developed and will launch via the streamer in May, well ahead of the TV show’s planned 2023 debut.
The show, which is executive produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, follows the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell as it reaches epic proportions when both God and the Devil are sent to Earth – in the bodies of chunky house cats.
Along with Ellis and Liu, “Exploding Kittens” stars Abraham Lim (“Clickbait,” “The Boys”), Ally Maki (“Wrecked,” “Toy Story 4”), Mark Proksch (“What We Do In The Shadows,” “Better Call Saul”) and Sasheer Zamata (“Woke,” “Home Economics”).
The series comes from showrunners Shane Kosakowski and Matthew Inman, who executive produce alongside Judge, Daniels and Dustin Davis of Bandera Entertainment, Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping for the Chernin Entertainment Group, and creators of the “Exploding Kittens” franchise, Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman.
“Netflix is the only service that could bring Exploding Kittens to life in both a series and a game,” Inman said. “We actually launched ‘Exploding Kittens’ on Kickstarter as a weekend project, but our community has been the heart and soul of the company over the past six years. The new series and game will give our fans new ways to connect and interact with the franchise.”
Per Netflix, the mobile game tie-in, “Exploding Kittens – The Game,” “retains the same classic gameplay where players draw cards aiming to avoid the Exploding Kitten, while adding two new exclusive cards to the deck:Radar, which reveals to players the position of the Exploding Kitten closest to the top of the card deck, and Flip Flop, which reverses the order of the cards in the deck.
The “Exploding Kittens” mobile game, which will have both single and multiplayer options, will be available to Netflix subscribers without additional fees or in-app purchases.
The streamer says, “Future cards and game mechanics will be themed around the animated series so friends and families can play with their favorite characters and bring the show to life.”
“The co-development of a game and animated series breaks new ground for Netflix,” Mike Moon, Netflix’s head of adult animation, said. “And we couldn’t think of a better game to build a universe around than Exploding Kittens, one of the most inventive, iconic and original games of this century! Netflix is the perfect place to explore this growing franchise and we are so fortunate to be working with this incredible team!”
“Our goal is to offer our members great entertainment they’ll love in whatever format they may enjoy – whether it be a game or an animated series,” added Leanne Loombe, head of external games at Netflix. “As we expand our mobile games catalog, we’re excited to partner with the Exploding Kittens digital team to bring this enjoyable game to all age groups, including a few exciting updates exclusively for our members.”
